Community dependence on biodiversity of food sources around the protected area of Mount Jampang forest as a form of conservation and sustainable development in Garut Regency

Abstract

The natural resources and the environment need to be considered the capital for national development and, at the same time, support living systems. Sustainable natural resources will ensure the availability of sustainable resources for products. In addition, a beautiful living environment will improve the quality of human life. Therefore, to realize an advanced, independent, and just Indonesia, Indonesia must manage natural resources and the environment in a balanced way to ensure the sustainability of national development. This study was conducted on communities around the forest area of Mount Jampang to reveal the crucial roles of biodiversity as food sources for the sustainability of local communities' livelihoods on forest product resources and their conservation. In this study, the population was the communities around the forest in Garut Regency. Samples were selected using a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected using in-depth interviews. The collected data were analyzed using a descriptive qualitative method to obtain a systematic and accurate description. For the results of this study, the researchers successfully recorded 97 plant species from 49 families. These plants have dominated by Zingiberaceae and Poaceae (8 species), Araceae and Moraceae (6 species), Solanaceae (5 species), Araceae (4 species), Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, and Musaceae (3 species), Acanthaceae, Lauraceae, Rosaceae, Araliaceae, and Theaceae (3 species), and Smilacaceae, Chloranthaceae, Begoniaceae, Cannaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Convolvulaceae, and others (1 species). The results of plant utilization indicated that the number of wild food plants was more widely used (64.94%) than that of cultivated food plants (35.05%). It means that the community dependence on biodiversity resources around the protected forest area is sufficiently high.